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From April’s 15th to 18th will take place in Barcelona the ‘Saló Internacional del Turisme’ – International Tourism Congress- at Fira de Barcelona. Equity Point Hostels will be there at ‘Porta del Desert, Discover the Desert’. Why don’t you come to visit us? We’ll be located at Pavilion 2, Level 0, Stand T106.

OnJanuary 12th there was a devastating earthquake in Haiti, the poorest country in South America. The entire world was shocked by the magnitude of the tragedy and everybody tried to help as they could.

Equity Point also raised money for aid in two different events: we sponsored a solidarity concert called Toca Haití, and hosted another event at Equity Point Centric in Barcelona.

As many of you will already know, a new Equity Point location has been open in the city of Girona since last July. The building in which the hostel is situated has been completely renovated to offer maximum comfort for our guests, and features spacious common areas, a guest kitchen, a bar, and a magnificent rooftop terrace with views over the river and Girona’s famous historic centre.Girona is the main destination for Ryanair in Catalunya, so, if your flight arrives very late or leaves early in the morning we invite you to enjoy our facilities and take advantage to get to know the city of Girona.Girona, or Gerunda in Roman times, was invaded by the Moors 797 BC, and maintains one of the most important Jewish Quarters in all of Europe. Girona is only one half hour by train to Figueras, which features the main Dali Museum, and also a half hour bus trip to any of the Costa Brava’s beaches. It is difficult to imagine a better geographical for a city than Girona.We invite you to come and see it for yourself!

Here you will be able to find the highest profile happenings and cultural events taking place in cities where Equity Point has hostels: Barcelona, Madrid and Girona. October is the month in which most Anglo-Saxon countries celebrate Halloween. On the same dates, Barcelona and Girona celebrate la castanyada, the chestnut fair. This popular celebration fills the streets with chestnut vendors and local panellets pastries.Girona celebrates its yearly city fair. You can find all the information regarding this festival in the Girona schedule.

Girona schedule:Starting on Friday, October 23rd, until October 31, Girona will once again be the focal point in Catalunya for festivals and shows. The Festival of Sant Narcis will fill the city with music, artisan’s market, parties, fair stands, street stores and countless activities. The inaugural speech will have a culinary flair, with the Roca brothers, from the famous Celler de Can Roca.

It's cold indeed, isn’t it? In fact, it's snowing in many parts of Catalonia. It's snowing where they're used to it, but also right by the sea, no need to go further than Barceloneta. We like watching the snow, especially those of us who only get to see it in those little glass snowballs we occasionally shake in the shops just to put them back on the shelf and forget about them once the snowflakes hit the ground.

The thing is –snow is romantic. There, I've said it; and there’s nothing wrong about it. Yet, it feels like talking about romantic things is kind of scary; it's uncool and it makes us look soft. I really think that a lot of the things that we like to look at, the things that make us relax and reflect, are romantic images and sensations, in the strictest sense of the word. Flames and glowing embers in a fireplace, the trickle or gush of running water, the sunset that paints the sky… I can even get a sweet sugary sensation just by writing down this list. We should get over this fear of things we find romantic; snow being one of them.

There are times when it isn't the hotel you chose or the people you met or the meals you enjoyed that make a trip memorable. Sometimes, that which has really made a trip worthwhile, or not, is no more than an anecdote .That fleeting and transitory moment can seal the fate of a stay in foreign territory.

This is why today I would like underline the importance of anecdotes. Those which we share, those which we experience alone, those which mainly go unnoticed, those which we never relate, those which we repeat at every dinner party…today I am dedicating these few lines to all that which deserves the category of anecdote for somebody.

How can we claim to know anything about a people if we don't know what makes them laugh?

Laughter unites and increases the feeling of having things in common, it produces a sensation of being at ease with other people, and it gives us information about the person we share our laughter with. In addition to all this, it is usually a reliable indication of character; not always, I know, but that's another question…

This is why when we want to learn more about another culture, we should do everything we can to find out what has them in stitches with laughter, what kinds of jokes or funny stories get them howling, and which theatrical gestures are infallible if you want to see a smile in less than 3 seconds flat. The problem is that, very often, laughter is related to the spoken word, and this can mean that outsiders find it hard to understand who we are and what makes us laugh.

So here we are: the first “My Point of View” article of the Autumn. It must be said that in Catalonia we welcome the Autumn with unusual enthusiasm. While it is undoubtedly true that many people are totally fed up by the end of the Summer with the heat and the same old clichés that are repeated year in year out between June and August, Autumn is nevertheless welcomed with a euphoria that comes more from the nature of the season itself than from that of the one we have just left behind. Let me explain.

When you come round to this time of year, you fish out that old pullover that you’d forgotten all about and that was hidden away at the back of the wardrobe. Suddenly putting on socks gives you a strangely reassuring feeling, and starting to boil up milk again in the mornings makes you feel that little bit younger. The most anxiously awaited part of all, though, is that at long last the hunting season has come round again.

Catalans love hunting – hunting for mushrooms, that is. Such a simple activity, you wouldn’t think that it could arouse so much passion….Continue reading →

I’ve just rushed to my computer to tell you about some good news I heard today. Now this is something that you might well think should be totally normal, but has in fact become an exceptional event, because these days having some good news to talk about in the media is about as common as being able to get hold of tickets to go to see the Cirque Du Soleil.

To get back to what I was saying, I just found out today that RENFE, the Spanish national railway company, has decided to stop the background music it plays on its local network trains in Catalonia. This decision has been taken after getting the thumbs down in a recent series of passenger surveys they conducted.